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The Hapan Royal Guard
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Galaxy at War See also: GaW Military Units For millennia, The Hapes Consortium- an isolated cluster of stars cut off from the galaxy and rumored to house beautiful women and uncountable riches- fueled the imaginations of envious spacers. Even today, its all-powerful monarchy continues to captivate public interest, and it is The Hapan Royal Guard that prevents the collapse of this charmed society by standing in the way of regicide. Hapan culture traces its origins to approximately 4050 BBY, when The Jedi annihilated The Lorell Raiders (Also known as The Hapan Pirates) who had been harassing Republic shipping from hideouts in the near-impassible Transitory Mists. The pirates' captives- most of them strikingly beautiful women- retreated to the 63 worlds within the Mists and formed a female dominated and, eventually, very wealthy society. With all governmental power vested in the hereditary officer of Queen Mother, the Hapans built a powerful navy and eventually sealed the cluster's borders in 3100 BBY. Although the galaxy couldn't see it, the 63 Hapan worlds entered a golden age. The Queen Mother's power was absolute, but that didn't prevent rivals from trying to maneuver other family members onto the throne. The Hapan Royal Guard, or The Chume'doro, first appeared in about 3000 BBY to protect the Queen Mother. This bodyguard unit consisted of 100 women selected from the elite members of the Hapan Navy and tasked with accompanying the Queen Mother on trips outside the Fountain Palace, screening visitors to her throne room, and tasting her food. Over time, the Royal Guard's ranks increased as they expanded their protection to include other members of the royal family. When scheming heirs corrupted the Royal Guard's bodyguard details and enlisted their help in coup attempts, The Chume'doro established the Investigative Branch to ferret out plots against the Queen Mother and to perform internal-affairs surveillance against its own members. In 8 ABY, The Hapes Consortium reopened its borders. The reigning monarch, Ta'a Chume, fell out of power in favor of her daughter-in-law, the outsider Teneniel Djo. The Hapan Royal Guard shifted its allegiance to the new ruler, but Ta'a Chume, still under palace protection, played on her personal guards' loyalty to her and used them to help plot Teneniel's death. A secret war erupted within the ranks of The Chume'doro. Assassinations thinned the group's ranks even as it maintained an unbroken veneer of professionalism. The end of the Yuuzhan Vong Invasion united the Royal Guard once more, with its members protecting Queen Mother Tenel Ka and her daughter Allana from assassination during the Second Galactic Civil War. Methods The Hapan Royal Guard is a police force, not a military branch. Its agents are quietly omnipresent. The Queen Mother is never without her bodyguard, and other agents are stationed aboard the Queen Mother's flagship, [[The Star Home|The Star Home]], aboard any naval assets that she might visit, and on each of the worlds of the Consortium. Their role in these settings is to investigate possible threats to members of the royal family. The Chume'doro have unlimited authority to commandeer local security forces, detain and interrogate any citizen, seize property and confiscate items, and tap into private communications. In the name of the Queen Mother, a member of the Royal Guard can overrule the orders of even the highest-ranking fleet admiral. Despite the lack of curbs on the power of The Chume'doro, most Hapans willingly submit to its authority. They believe their Queen Mother to be almost a goddess, and her protectors incorruptible. If a member of the Royal Guard detects a plot against the Queen Mother, an Investigative agent determines the extent of the threat, and agents arrest the conspirators without violence. If necessary, Royal Guards are also the elite fighters who defend the Queen Mother with their lives. Wars, although rare, occur as a result of organized pirate raids or attempted coups by the planetary forces of one or more of the 63 worlds of The Hapes Consortium. During full-scale battles, The Chume'doro commands the Hapes Home Guard and other military elements. All Royal Guards are experts in unarmed combat and the use of edged weapons, polearms, and blasters. Specialty branches include Fountain Snipers (Who protect the palace with long-range Rifles), Fountain Gunners (Who operate Heavy Weapons and fixed Weapon Emplacements), and Royal Fliers (Who pilot a variant of the Miy'til Fighter). Royal Guard detachments on the 63 Consortium worlds have combat specialisations appropriate to their assigned environments, such as forest, urban, arctic, and aquatic. Missions Most of The Hapan Royal Guard's work is carried out by the Investigative Branch, including surveillance on other members of The Chume'doro. Missed threats often manifest in combat opportunities that are (Hopefully) short and one-sided. These acts of attempted regicide include ambushes in cramped hallways, blocked avenues that trap motorcades, sniper fire during public addresses, and suicide killers who rush the Queen Mother laden with explosives or who pilot aircars into the palace's residential wing. Such assassins can be lone crazies, hired bounty hunters, rogue military personnel, or even traitorous agents of the Royal Guard. During assassination attempts, whichever members of the Royal Guard are assigned to the Queen Mother or her heirs at that moment are expected to kill the attackers and escort the ruling family to safety. It takes a big threat to mobilize the entire Royal Guard. Sustained raids by pirates (Who are sometimes led by Hapan males of noble birth) are the most common menace, although planetary rebellions have occurred throughout the Consortium's history. In these circumstances, Royal Fliers attach themselves to whichever Hapan naval elements they choose, and they are automatically granted rank privileges and priority launch clearance over the regular pilots stationed aboard those Nova-Class Battlecruisers. If the conflict involves ground combat, The Chume'doro commands battalions of troops or sends individual agents on sabotage, reconnaissance, or rescue missions. Royal Guard agents take command of regular Hapan military forces only when the Queen Mother's rule is threatened or when the Consortium as a whole is in danger (Often the same thing). Smaller conflicts against isolated groups or pirates or local smugglers are handled through the traditional military chain of command. Because Hapes is bathed in starlight, members of The Hapan Royal Guard share their people's genetic night blindness. They carry night-vision optics to compensate for this deficiency in low-light conditions. Rank Structure The Chume'doro has two branches: Royal and Investigative. The Royal Branch protects the Queen Mother through combat and deterrence; its divisions include Fountain Snipers and Royal Fliers, and the contingents operating on each of the 63 Consortium worlds are considered unique division. The Investigative Branch protects the Queen Mother through spying and interrogation, and it has five divisions: Surveillance, Interrogation, Forensics, Purity (Internal Affairs), and Stealth. New inductees are known as Agents, and the term also is used informally to describe all members of the Royal Guard. In ascending order of rank, Agents can be Grade 3, Grade 2, or Grade 1. Agents typically operate in cells of two to four individuals. Those who earn recommendations from their superiors fight in duels with polearms or other melee weapons, with the winner earning a promotion to officer status. Royal Guard officers start with the rank of Captain and command up to 40 cells of Agents. The next highest rank is Major, which is the highest rank within the Investigative Branch. The Royal Branch has one elite rank, The Favored, who are considered the spiritual descendents of the original bodyguards assembled to protect the first Queen Mother. Although few in number, The Favored have complete authority over the Royal Guard, Hapan military forces, and civilians. The ranks of The Favored are 100 percent female, whereas the membership of the rest of the Royal Guard is 95 percent female and 5 percent male.